Staffs Fest; Live, Loud & Local

The Barrelhouse Jukes

Barrelhouse Jukes are an acoustic Blues and Roots band.They write their own material and also put their own twist on classic blues and roots covers. Their influences are wide and varied as each band member has very eclectic tastes. Their collective writing style is along the lines of Roots, Blues and Americana music but they like to mix it up a bit from time to time. From the earliest Blues recordings of Son House, Robert Johnson and Odetta, on to Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Jorma and the Hot Tuna stuff, John Martyn, Bob Dylan. All big influences on them. Too many to mention really but safe to say they hang out where it all started.

This will be Barrelhouse Jukes third year appearing at the festival . The band are a huge supporter of bringing live music to a wider audience both young and old

Juke Joint – is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term “juke” is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly. Classic juke joints found, for example, at rural crossroads, catered to the rural work force. Plantation workers and sharecroppers needed a place to relax and socialize following a hard week. Set up on the outskirts of town, often in ramshackle buildings or private houses, juke joints offered food, drink, dancing and gambling for weary workers.

Jukebox – A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron’s selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons with letters and numbers on them that, when entered in combination, are used to play a specific selection. The term “jukebox” came into use in the United States around 1940, apparently derived from the familiar usage “juke joint”……..So, from all that, we can say that at various points we have contained alcohol and been rowdy and disorderly and also played music. We think if you come and see us play, you’ll probably work the rest out for yourselves.